Kenyans Vote, Or Mostly Don't In Controversial Re-election

Very few Kenyans showed up to vote on October 26 at a controversial reelection boycotted by the main opposition, causing a deep divide and ethnic cleavages throughout the East African nation.

- Nahar Khan

The picture at polling stations today retained a stark contrast to that of August 8, with polling booths standing empty and security forces outnumbering voters.

At the Mbajo Primary School polling station of Kakamega County, Samson Musungu, who defied the current political climate to show up told UNB, “Last time there were 1400 voters as the queue ran beyond the gates of this school and today, there were only 2.”

The opposition party National Super Alliance (NASA), led by Raila Odinga, has decided not to participate in the re-elections and announced that it is now a resistance movement focusing on defending democracy and mobilizing movements to ensure free and fair elections for the economic hub of East Africa.

Kakamega County appears to be a NASA stronghold as polling stations remained empty with people responding to its boycott. Festos Wasike, when asked why he didn’t vote this time, responds, “We are aware that the inevitable outcome of this re-election will be yet another Kenyatta victory.”

A historic Supreme Court ruling invalidated incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in the August 8 elections, linking widespread irregularities in electronic transmission of election results and the murder of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) Manager of IT, Chris Msando - who had developed a fraud-proof electronic ballot and voter registration system.

The monumental court ruling set a new precedent in the region due to government usually having substantial influence on the judges, as re-election threatens to drive risks of increased political unrest.